Reading Recommendations: Austen Mysteries and Josephine Tey

Dear listeners,

Welcome to our reading recommendations newsletter! Once a month, I pop into your inbox to share what the Shedunnit team — that is, me and my production assistant Leandra — have been reading while we are making the show. I hope you'll find some ideas for what you might read here, or get a hint of what is coming up on the podcast in the future.

Caroline Has Read: The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh by Claudia Gray

I'm cheating a bit here, because reading (or rather listening to) Claudia Gray's "Mr Darcy & Miss Tilney" series was actually a recommendation that Leandra made to me, and now I'm passing it on to everyone else. Regardless, I've really enjoyed these gentle yet well-plotted historical mysteries, with original Austen characters and settings serving as the backdrop for new crime stories. Jonathan Darcy (son of Darcy and Elizabeth) and Juliet Tilney (daughter of Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland) team up in the first book when they are both guests at a house party where Mr Wickham is murdered. This one is their third outing, by which time they have become known as crime-solvers. It sees them summoned by Jonathan's great aunt, the ever-imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh, because she suspects that someone is trying to kill her. It's always interesting to me to see how an author handles a murder mystery-style story that doesn't begin with a murder, and I felt like Gray did a really good job here.

Caroline Will Read: The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart

The Shedunnit Book Club has just chosen our book for May, which will be Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey. A group of members has decided that alongside it, they're going to read Mary Stewart's 1961 novel The Ivy Tree, which I understand is another take on the tropes that Tey is exploring. I had never heard of this book before, so I'm excited to give it a try.

Leandra Has Read: The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

Ever since Caroline interviewed Tana French in 2022 for The Kidnap of Elizabeth Canning episode, I have been meaning to finally pick up The Franchise Affair for the first time. It shows how quickly time passes, as it took me nearly four years to do it. With that said, I did manage to read four books by Tana French in that time! Inspired by the 18th-century abduction case, Tey reimagines the event from a post-WWII lens. The residents at the Franchise have been accused of kidnapping a young girl named Betty Kane. She says the two women locked her in their attic and beat her before she managed to escape. The accused, Mrs. and Miss Sharpe, are adamant that they have never seen Betty in their lives. Who is lying?

I thoroughly enjoyed Tey's choice to follow the story from the perspective of solicitor Robert Blair. As a character so used to his routine and life of small comforts, it was fun seeing him challenged as he seeks to uncover the truth. While Alan Grant makes an appearance, it's another example in GAD where sometimes the series detective takes a backseat role, blending into the background as a secondary character. I highly recommend this title for those interested in how media and public opinion can influence an investigation. It has a great final court scene as well!

Leandra Will Read: The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie

In a book club I host outside of Shedunnit, we will be reading The Seven Dials Mystery in honor of the new adaptation released by Netflix. The plan is to read the book in March and then watch the three-part TV series throughout April. This will be my first time reading Seven Dials, so it will be interesting to see how I get on with it. In this light-hearted thriller, a practical joke involving eight clocks backfires horribly. One of the clocks has gone missing, and someone is dead.

That's what we'll be reading in March — how about you? You can let us know by replying directly to this email or by leaving a comment to join the conversation with other readers. 

Until next time,

Caroline